"It's my win," Axel said as he slid the wooden sword back onto the rack.
"Good game."
Landon followed behind, extending his fist. Axel bumped it without hesitation.
"What's your name?" Landon asked.
"Axel Lycan."
Landon smirked. "I'm guessing you already know who I am?"
"Rank Number 2. Who wouldn't?"
The grin didn't falter, but Landon tilted his head, mildly impressed. "Rank Number 2, but you still beat me. So… what's your rank?"
Axel hesitated. Just for a second. Then: "...3321."
Landon's expression cracked. "3321?! A guy of your caliber is ranked that low? With your swordsmanship alone, I figured you'd be top 100. Maybe even top 50. Is your potential low or something? Mine's SS."
Axel looked away. "Mine is… don't worry about it."
The match was over. The small talk was dragging. He grabbed his bottle and bag.
"Anyway, good match. I should get going."
Landon threw a towel over his shoulder. "Aight, cool. Same time tomorrow?"
"Eh, probably. But I'm not guaranteeing another match." Axel stretched his back with a faint wince. "My body aches like hell."
"You want to do a few stretches with me?"
"No thanks. I'm calling it a night."
With that, Axel exited the training hall, unaware that his calm departure would stir far more chaos than his victory had.
…
A Few Hours Later
Somewhere deep within the student forums...
Anonymous: |Some guy roasted THE Landon Dusktone in a swordfight! NOT CLICKBAIT! Video below|
NPC: | I was there. At the edge of the seat while watching them. |
NPC: | They're both hella handsome. |
NPC: | Who's the yellow-eyed one? Asking for educational reasons. |
NPC: | That dude was in my class. I think his name was Axel |
250+ responses in 1 hour
…
The next morning, Axel noticed it immediately.
The stares.
Subtle, poorly disguised, and annoyingly frequent. Whenever he turned to look, eyes darted away. Some bashfully, others obviously pretending they hadn't been staring to begin with.
He even caught a few girls blushing.
"What the hell…" he muttered as he adjusted his collar and continued through the hallway. Was his fly open or something? Axel checked down, nope, that wasn't it.
He reached Dungeon Ecology exactly on time, yet the room was already packed. Not surprising. Aeris was a crowd favorite, her class always drawing a full audience. Still, there was one seat that remained reliably empty,
The one next to Yanin.
He made his way to it, catching whispers in the air.
"that's him, right?"
"Yellow eyes, can't miss him."
"He's better looking in person"
Axel sat down with a sigh, rubbing his temples.
Before he could process further, a phone was shoved directly in front of his face.
Yanin didn't say a word.
The screen played a video in near-perfect quality: him and Landon mid-duel. Every move captured. Every pivot. Every dodge. Every strike. He even looked good in the lighting.
Yanin rolled her eyes. "This you?"
"Nooo. It's a skinwalker. No shit it's me."
Yanin rolled her crimson eyes.
"No need to be rude about it. But…I didn't expect for you to be somewhat skilled."
Axel who trained for years with the sword in his past life only to be called somewhat skilled: "..."
"This is so annoying. No wonder I kept getting stared at." He sighed in despair.
"Just deal with it. It'll go away within a week or two." Yanin added bluntly.
"You're right. Miss Number 1 probably deals with way worse."
"Ugh, don't even mention it."
…
The class went by pretty quickly but Axel was dreading his next. He could only pray that the video hadn't spread to instructor Vale or else he'll become a target.
He entered his next class early and bee-lined straight for the back row, slipping into a seat and slouching just enough to look unremarkable.
Too late.
A familiar voice dropped into the seat beside him.
"So, I'm guessing you heard the rumors?" Landon, the person who he hated the most in this moment.
Axel didn't turn. "This is your fault."
"You should've been more aware of your surroundings," Landon said, not sounding the least bit sorry.
Before Axel could retort, another figure dropped into the seat on his left.
"Axel!" Selen called out, her bright blue eyes practically sparkled with enthusiasm.
"Yes, that video was me," Axel said preemptively. "And yes, I kicked his ass."
"You didn't kick my ass! You barely won." Landon barked.
Selene ignored him completely. "Geez, what kind of training did you go through all these years? That passion for swordsmanship never died, huh?"
"You don't want to know," Axel muttered.
"Shhh." He gestured toward the front. "Teacher's coming."
Right on cue, Instructor Vale walked in.
"Silence! Now, class" He began
"While weapon proficiency is important, there's something even more essential: the ability to reinforce your body and properly control your mana."
His eyes swept the room like a hawk scanning for prey.
Then, without breaking stride, they stopped right on Axel.
His tone didn't change.
But the glint in his eye was unmistakable.
He knew.
Axel stared back, his gaze unwavering.
Challenge me? I'll make you regret it.